Walk around Glay

Visit the old golden stone quarry in Glay and immerse yourself in the vineyards.

Details

166708
Creation:
Last update:
Last review:
  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 3.52 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 1h 30 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Easy

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 169 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 177 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 426 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 259 m

Photos

Description of the walk

(S/E) From the car park at the old Glay quarry, follow the circular trail to discover the golden stone cliffs, the stonemasons' houses and the superb views of the Beaujolais region.

(1) From the car park, take the wooden staircase to climb up to a viewpoint overlooking the golden stone cliffs. Then go back down the stairs and turn left.

(2) As soon as possible, take the path on the right and descend towards the vineyard. Go around it on the left and, as soon as possible, go straight down. When you reach the road, turn left and then take the first road on the right, the D19.
On this section of road, keep well to the left as cars can travel quite fast here. Pass the house on the bend and take the path immediately after on the left. You will then be surrounded by vineyards. When you reach the house, continue straight ahead and follow the path into the woods.
On your right is a pond. Take the path up to the left along the Goutte de Glay. During the climb, turn onto the first path on the right to descend to a small waterfall.

(3) Be careful on the last few metres before the waterfall, as they can be very slippery. Go back up the path in the opposite direction, then turn right towards the village of Glay. Take the opportunity to admire the golden stone houses typical of the Beaujolais region.

(4) Take the third road on the left towards the cross. Be careful when crossing the road at this cross. Take the road opposite.
As soon as possible, return to the starting point by walking along the top of the vineyards. This will be more pleasant than taking the road.

(2) Return via the first path you took to the Carrière car park (S/E).

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 415 m - Car park at the old Glay quarry
  2. 1 : km 0.08 - alt. 426 m - View of the golden stone cliffs
  3. 2 : km 0.26 - alt. 406 m - Carrefour des Carrières
  4. 3 : km 2.12 - alt. 270 m - Goutte de Glay waterfall
  5. 4 : km 2.63 - alt. 343 m - Glay
  6. S/E : km 3.52 - alt. 415 m - Car park at the old Glay quarry

Notes

Good walking shoes are necessary as some paths are very stony, even rocky.
There are no water sources, so bring something to drink.

Worth a visit

Glay golden stone quarries.
Village of Glay.
Goutte de Glay waterfall.
Beaujolais vineyards.

Reviews and comments

4.1 / 5
Based on 17 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.1 / 5
Ease of following the route
3.9 / 5
Route interest
4.1 / 5
Polya73
Polya73

Overall rating : 2.3 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 22, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

Nice view from the car park.
Start: Point 1, the quarry, has been inaccessible since June 2024, with a barrier blocking the steps.
From the car park, the path down to the vineyards is invisible as it is so overgrown..
descent via the road: no particular interest. However, the descent and ascent through the undergrowth, etc. are far from accessible to everyone. Large stones roll underfoot (wear good hiking boots).
The climb back up is also far from easy, quite steep and very, very long... and there are no views either.
Despite following the route carefully, we didn't see what was indicated. It's a shame, as it sounded good in the description.

Machine-translated

Bibiriri6
Bibiriri6

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 10, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant and enjoyable walk offering breathtaking views of GLAY.

Machine-translated

Arthur_p
Arthur_p

Overall rating : 2.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Route interest : ★★☆☆☆ Disappointing
Very busy route : No

On that day, the Glay quarries were inaccessible by prefectural order due to the risk of rockfalls. The path leading down from the car park was poorly maintained and difficult to walk on, and access to point 3 of the waterfalls was also impossible due to a fallen tree blocking the path. Several of us were forced to walk along the road to bypass the impassable paths. It was a bit disappointing, as the area looked promising.

Machine-translated

Patoop
Patoop

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 05, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

A pleasant little walk through a beautiful village with golden stone buildings. Watch out for mud.

Machine-translated

Marivo
Marivo

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 02, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A leisurely stroll...
Really enjoyed the quarry site, would love to come back...

Machine-translated

SERVIGNAT Brigitte
SERVIGNAT Brigitte

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 16, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

It's a shame it was foggy today. We'll have to come back on a clear day because we didn't get to enjoy the view.

Machine-translated

Juébastien
Juébastien

Overall rating : 4.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 30, 2021
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

A really nice walk with my 7-year-old son

Machine-translated

adrien69
adrien69

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 19, 2020
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

I did this with my two children (aged 4 and 7). In less than 5 kilometres, you can visit the old golden stone quarry, immerse yourself in the autumn colours of the vineyards, explore the forest, and say hello to the charming little village of Glay. Excellent!

Machine-translated

GMLAURENT
GMLAURENT

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : May 21, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

We have added a bonus - Once you reach the car park, take the log staircase that overlooks the quarry.
Instead of retracing our steps, we continued along the path overlooking the quarry through the boxwood trees.
At the three-way junction, turn left and DESCEND THE PATH that leads back down to the quarry and the car park, the starting point (maximum duration 20 minutes).

Machine-translated

Rusty03
Rusty03
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jan 27, 2019
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good

Hello,

A beautiful hike with stunning views.

The elevation gain seems greater than described according to my watch (180m indicated). You need to wear good shoes, especially when hiking on a rainy day like we did.

I'm saving this one as a favourite to do again another time and admire the vineyards with their beautiful grapes!

Machine-translated

totoro_59fr
totoro_59fr

Hello,

Thank you for your feedback. Indeed, the trail on the right is not marked but is clearly visible, unless the vegetation has recently taken over... The steps are steep, it's true, but very well maintained.

Kind regards,

Machine-translated

bibi
bibi ★

Thank you for your feedback. We will need to find more details to help people locate the start of the path on the right. Spring vegetation tends to hide some of the smaller paths, so it is important to be extra vigilant.
Kind regards

Machine-translated

caravanserail
caravanserail

Overall rating : 2 / 5

Date of your route : Apr 02, 2018
Reliability of the description : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Ease of following the route : ★☆☆☆☆ Very disappointing
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

the path that branches off to the right is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND, so we have to descend through unmarked and poorly maintained woodland.
This means we miss the waterfall and pond described.
PLEASE NOTE: the steps are long, extremely steep, very high and slippery (logs and leaves), so good footwear and a good level of fitness are essential!
Otherwise, the golden stone quarries site in the car park is particularly spectacular and well laid out!
Stone masons restore it every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, as well as during the weekend of 12-13 June 2018, when an introduction to stone cutting is offered.
There are numerous benches from which to admire the breathtaking panorama, and signs provide excellent explanations of how the quarries were worked in the past. The entire site is also remarkable for its cleanliness and tranquillity.
Be sure to visit the village of Glay on foot – built entirely of golden stone and preserved because it is unknown, especially to satnavs!

Machine-translated

totoro_59fr
totoro_59fr

Hello and thank you for your comment. I have amended the description accordingly.

Machine-translated

jlepinay
jlepinay

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 05, 2017
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good

Hello, We did a very nice hike on a Sunday morning with our two little girls. It's a bit steep, it's true, but the view is beautiful.
However, the route description needs to be amended: during the climb up La Goutte de Glay, turn right onto the first path to descend to the small waterfall, not left.

Otherwise, everything was great, thank you! We can't wait for the next one!

Machine-translated

Other walks in the area

For more walks, use our search engine .

The GPS track and description are the property of this route's author. Please do not copy them without permission.